Care
by arrasails1977
Summary: For Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge TV drama. Kyohei takes care of a sick Sunako.
1. Chapter 1

Sunako sneezed loudly and groaned as the loud sound vibrated and hurt her already aching head. She was glad that her skin, not being exposed to direct sunlight that often, was already pale, so her sickness would hopefully go unnoticed by the four young men that she lived with in her aunt's boarding house.

"Hiroshi-kun," she whimpered, shuffling over to the plastic anatomy model that was her best friend. She winced as she heard her own croaky voice. She only hoped that it would not be necessary to speak to much, or they would know that she was not well.

It was a matter of pride to Sunako that nothing interfere with her job of taking care of the cooking and cleaning while her aunt was away; knowing the four men as she did, they would likely try to stop her if they knew she wasn't well. This even applied to Takano Kyohei, who quite often thought of nothing but his stomach!

"Keep this to yourself, Hiroshi-kun. Sshh," she added, placing a finger on the anatomy model's lips as though to stop him from spilling the beans.

She was actually later than usual waking up and was a little amazed that Kyohei had not already been in demanding to know where his breakfast was.

Ensuring that her long fringe covered her face, she lifted the hood of her cloak, bringing it forward to conceal her face in shadow as much as possible.

Rushing toward the door as fast as her fever would allow, she went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

Thankfully, breakfast went without much of a hitch. Takenaga, Ranmaru and Yukinojo had already been downstairs waiting patiently for her to arrive to cook their habitual breakfast of rice and miso soup. Kyohei, who she had been afraid would come and collect her before she was ready, had actually overslept herself himself, meaning that she had almost finished the soup when he appeared, yawning and scratching his head.

He had frowned faintly as she noticed that his food was not waiting for him, but his expression cleared when he saw that she was dishing the rice up into four bowls.

"Itadakimasu!" he said loudly clasping his chopsticks in readiness to eat as she placed the bowl in front of him on the table.

Hidden as she was inside her cape, she didn't notice him frown as he managed to get a clear look at her from where he was sitting. "Are you okay?"

She looked at his face, startled. She immediately dropped her gaze as she felt the dazzling effects of staring directly at him. "I'm fine," she mumbled hunching her shoulders defensively as she turned away.

"Are you not well, Sunako-chan?" Yukinojo asked with concern.

"I'm fine," she mumbled again, shuffling out of the dining area, retreating to the kitchen away from the possibility of any probing questions.

Knowing that she didn't have long before they finished their breakfasts, she quickly cleaned up and raced back to her room to hide until they all left for the day.

She settled tiredly into her rocking chair and absently rocked as she hummed to herself. It wasn't long before she had hummed herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"That girl," Kyohei muttered under his breath. He was supposed to be on his way to college with the others and instead was having to go chasing upstairs to see what was wrong with her. He wouldn't admit to himself that he was actually a little worried about her.

Though Sunako was never what one could call in any way cheerful, she usually showed more life than she had while serving breakfast. He knew that he hadn't been imagining the change in her because of the conversation he and the others had had when she had shuffled off to clean up.

"Sunako-chan doesn't look well, does she?" This came from Ranmaru as he finished the last of his rice.

"She certainly didn't seem herself," Takenaga agreed, concern apparent on his usually placid features.

"I think Kyohei should go and check on her," came Yukinojo's helpful suggestion.

"Why me?" Kyohei asked indignantly.

Yukinojo grinned, unrepentant. "You should go because you have more time than the rest of us. Don't you have self-study for today?"

Cursing Yukinojo's attention to detail that let him remember that fact, Kyohei huffed in annoyance. "Fine! I'll go." He pushed himself to his feet, choosing not to hear the hushed murmuring coming from behind him as he stalked out of the room and up the staircase.

And that was how he now found himself outside of Sunako's bedroom, staring indecisively at the wooden door, behind which he knew that she was hiding. Feeling like a fool for hesitating, he pursed his lips and pushed the door wide open, vaguely noting the sound downstairs of his friends leaving.

He halted abruptly just inside the doorway at the sight before him.

He had expected to see her holding some bizarre conversation with the three plastic models in the corner. Instead, Sunako was sleeping peacefully in the rocking chair by the bed, which held the coffin that she slept in each night.

As sleeping in the day was completely out of character for the horror-girl that he had come to know over the last few months, he walked over and stared down at her, puzzled.

Her head was leaning against the back of the chair as she slept. He was concerned to see that her usually pale cheeks were flushed and her lips were parted as she breathed heavily.

He watched as she frowned slightly in her sleep, apparently finding it difficult to breathe properly. From this and her flushed cheeks, he deduced that she must have caught a virus.

Anger rose inside him. Why hadn't the little idiot told anybody that she obviously wasn't well? He and the others had proved many times that they would help and protect her if they could. He refused to admit to himself that he was also a little hurt that she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him.

He shook his head and leaned forward, lifting a hand to her forehead. She was burning up. She needed to be in bed, but he didn't think her coffin would be the most relaxing of places; and he thought that it was just a little too morbid to be sleeping in a coffin while you were ill!

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake before rapidly stepping back before her reflexes could kick in, causing her to punch him in the stomach, as had happened many times before.

When she breathed more deeply in and out instead of hitting him, he approached her again and lifted her from the chair.

The fact that she didn't struggle, her head flopping limply on to his shoulder proved to him just how ill she must be. He straightened up and pondered for a moment where would be the best place for her. Obachan's room wasn't viable; Takeru slept in there while his mother was away and Kyohei was concerned that the little boy might catch whatever virus Sunako had.

Putting her in one of his friends' rooms was also out of the question, so he supposed that the only remaining option was to settle her in to his room. At least then he could watch over her and make sure she was okay.

He aimed resolutely for his room and opened the door with his elbow. He held her in his arms, wondering whether he was insane for even thinking of bringing her into his bedroom. Its fine, he argued with himself. She's not well, so you're only doing what Obachan would do if she were here.

He walked to his bed and somehow managed to simultaneously pull back the bedclothes and hold Sunako without dropping her on her head. He placed her gently on the bed and covered her with the duvet. He was concerned that she hadn't stirred since he had picked her up in her room and he stopped to look down at her as she slept. Her cheeks were flushed and she still appeared to be having problems breathing.

It was then that it hit him that he couldn't very well leave her to sleep in her cloak and track suit. But that being said, him undressing her was definitely out of the question!

"Ah! Noi!" he cried. He knew that the other girl was attending the self-study session he should be taking part in right now, so he knew that she should be available to help him.

He took his mobile phone out of the pocket of his jeans and dialled her number.

"Moshi-moshi," came her high-pitched, cheerful voice.

"Noi, it's Kyohei." Now that he had her on the phone, he wondered whether calling her had been the wisest course of action. Knowing the way that Noi's mind worked, he was sure that she would read more into his looking after a sick Sunako, than the fact that he was merely concerned for her wellbeing.

Metaphorically taking the bull by the horns, Kyohei knew that he would just have to live with the teasing; Sunako was just too ill to be left alone.

"I need your help, Noi. Could you come over to the boarding house as quickly as you can?" He asked it reluctantly, despite knowing he had no other choice.

"I wondered where you were when you didn't show up at the library for study. Is everything okay? Takenaga-kun is okay, right?" she asked anxiously.

"Takenaga is fine," he hastened to reassure her. "I need your help with Sunako."

"Sunako-chan? What's so urgent about Sunako-chan?" she asked, puzzled.

"She has a virus but is sleeping and I need to put her to bed. I can't let her sleep in her clothes, so I wondered whether you could come over and put her in her nightgown. I can deal with it after that."

He winced and held the phone away from his ear as Noi squealed and hurt his eardrum. "Kyohei-kun! That's so sweet, you wanting to look after Sunako-chan while she's not well. Kawaii, ne?"

He grunted. It was as bad as he had thought it would be. He was getting heartily sick and tired of everyone insisting that he was in love with Nakahara Sunako. "I'm just doing it out of the goodness of my heart," he snarled through gritted teeth. "It's what anyone else would do."

"Hai, hai," Noi said, humouring him; she wasn't having any of it. "Anyway, I'm afraid I can't get away right now. You'll just have to look after Sunako-chan on your own."

Kyohei was convinced he could almost see the gleeful expression on her face as she refused him. He was also sure that she would immediately be running off to tell his housemates about the situation and he groaned under his breath as he thought of the teasing that would be coming his way when they got home.

"But, but," he stuttered, still trying vainly to stop her. Before he could continue, he heard her high voice squeak, "good luck," before he was left with nothing but a dial tone echoing in his ear.

He stared blankly down at the peacefully sleeping Sunako as she lay in his bed and he realised that he was in this on his own.

"Noooo!" he cried, looking despairingly skyward. Nakahara Sunako slept on, oblivious.


	3. Chapter 3

Sunako opened her eyes blearily as she heard a muffled curse coming from across the room.

She felt awful, like she just wanted to sleep undisturbed. Her nose was stuffy and couldn't breathe properly. She stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling – it wasn't in her room, the proof of that the sunlight pouring through the open curtains. And the soft bed beneath her was definitely not the coffin that she usually slept in. She began to panic a little, wondering where she was.

A huffing noise accompanied the muffled curses and she looked across the room. Kyohei was holding the door open while trying to balance tea and a bowl of soup on a wooden tray as he tried to enter the room, which as she now got a better look around, could see was his bedroom.

"What? Why am I..." her voice petered out as his head shot up at her voice and he scowled ferociously at her as she lay in his bed.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to make chicken noodle soup? It took me three attempts before I realised if you cut the chicken up smaller it would cook more quickly," he complained, placing the tray on his bedside table.

"I've never really thought...w-w-why am I...?" Sunako asked, confused and a little put out as to why he was making soup; that was usually her job.

He glared down at her. "You're here because you're ill and you need someone to take care of you. As I don't have lessons today, I drew the short straw! And that reminds me," he added before she could get offended. "Next time you're ill, you tell somebody. You were so tired that you fell asleep in your rocking chair and didn't wake up until now, despite the fact that I carried you all the way down here."

"I just didn't want to be a bother," she mumbled.

He sighed in exasperation. "I'd hoped by now that you would know you could trust us."

She bit her lip, feeling guilty. "I-I-it's not that I don't trust you. I didn't realise how bad I felt until this morning and I thought a nap once you had all gone would make me feel better. I'm just used to looking after myself."

He huffed in annoyance, shaking his head. "Well, you're not alone anymore. Tell somebody next time. Anyway, have some of this soup and then get some sleep. Hopefully, you'll be better by the time the others get home. Discovering you in here is the last thing I need," he muttered, leaning forward to lift her into a sitting position.

Unfortunately, as he lifted her toward him, his face came into her direct line of vision and she squinted in distress. "Ma...ma..."

"Huh?" he asked absently, focusing only on sitting her up.

"Ma-mabushii!" CRACK!

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

They both cried out in simultaneous expressions of pain as she head-butted him in response to his dazzling good looks.

"Geez, even when you're sick!" He leaned forward again, this time having the forethought to tuck her face into his shoulder so that she couldn't see his face.

She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed in deeply. She wished that her blocked nose wasn't preventing her from inhaling the comforting scent of him that she found quite pleasant.

"Here, eat this and then sleep for a few hours," Kyohei said, placing the tray on her lap, rubbing the bridge of his nose absently at the lingering pain from the head-butt.

She ate the chicken noodle soup he had prepared; it wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be. He hadn't added any seasoning, so was quite bland, but she felt happy that he had made it for her.

She could feel him watching her intently as she ate, his arms folded as he silently waited until she had finished.

Just the action of eating the soup had sapped her strength and she sighed heavily. "That was nice. Thank you," she mumbled as he took away the tray and placed it back on the table.

He nodded at her, seeming a little uncomfortable himself. "Okay, just take one of these tablets and then sleep and we'll see how you are when you wake up."

She took the tablet he passed to her with some of the now cool tea. This time remembering to conceal her face, he helped her to lie down. He tucked the blanket tightly around her and patted her twice firmly on her shoulder. "Feel better," he directed.

She was almost asleep when her good manners surfaced and she roused herself enough to say quietly, "Thank you for taking care of me."

Kyohei stood where he was, unable despite himself to tear his eyes from her peacefully sleeping face. When she was awake, she seemed always to be worrying about something or other, so this was a rare opportunity to watch her, undisturbed.

She wasn't what could be strictly described as beautiful, but there was something about her that drew him to her. She would do anything to help someone in need. Despite being a hikikomori and unable to look directly at most people, she would always force herself to do what was needed if the situation needed it.

He found himself getting angry at what the careless words of an ignorant high-school boy had done to the sensitive young girl that Sunako was and a part of him could quite cheerfully have tracked Murata down and beat some sense into him.

Sunako stirred in her sleep and turned on to her side, facing away from him, shattering his reverie and he realised that he had been actually staring at her like some love-struck high schooler.

Scratching his head impatiently, he was glad that none of the others were in the house to witness him watching Sunako while she slept. Shaking himself, he purposely walked out of the room, leaving Sunako sleeping in peace.

He stopped abruptly on the staircase and exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you talking about? We wouldn't miss this for the world."

Kyohei's worst fears had been realised. That blabbermouth, Noi must have gone tattling as soon as she hung up the phone because situated in the living area in various poses were his three housemates.

Takenaga was seated calmly watching proceedings, not saying much, but taking it all in. Ranmaru lounged lazily on the red chaise longue and Yukinojo, who had apparently voted himself spokesman for the group, was standing behind the sofa, grinning up at Kyohei with a moronic expression of glee.

"So...how you doing?" he asked, nodding and smiling and nodding suggestively.

Kyohei glared at him. One of his faults – and he admitted this himself – was that he was not good at being the butt of someone else's fun. He didn't appreciate being the source of amusement for his three housemates and he wasn't slow to make these feelings known – usually with his fists if necessary.

Those same fists clenched at his side. This had been what he had been afraid of. Calling Noi had been a big mistake. However, he knew that arguing with Yukinojo would only make his predicament worse. If he just tried to blow it off, maybe the others would let it go. He slowly unclenched his fists as he tried to calm down.

"I'm just fine. When I went up to see how Sunako was, she wasn't well, so I've put her to bed and done her some soup and now she's sleeping," he told them nonchalantly.

"What? You cooked for her? Must be love," Yukinojo sang.

Seeing Kyohei's eye twitching with suppressed anger, Takenaga, calm person that he was, decided that it was time to put a stop to Yukinojo's enjoyment, if for nothing but the blonde man's safety. "How is Sunako-chan?" he interjected calmly.

Shoving his hands in his pocket, Kyohei said, "I think she'll be fine; she just needs to rest. She does do a lot around here."

The others looked at each other guiltily. Though they often berated Kyohei for taking advantage of Sunako's kind nature by accepting whole-heartedly the meals and household chores that she did, they knew that up to a point, they were also guilty of the same thing.

Before Sunako had come into their lives, they had, more often than not, due to Obachan's frequent absences, had to fend for themselves and had perhaps gone a little mad once Sunako had been there to take care of them.

"I guess we have taken Sunako-chan for granted since she arrived," Yukinojo admitted.

"Maybe we should do something for her," Takenaga suggested.

"I could take her to a hot-spring," Ranmaru offered. "A romantic weekend away with me would do her a world of good!"

"No!" the others refused in unison. Ranmaru shrugged, not offended.

"Maybe I'll just run up and make sure she is okay," Yukinojo said, already moving towards the stairs. "That coffin can't be very comfortable."

Kyohei immediately spread both arms and legs where he stood at the bottom of the stairs, barring Yukinojo's way. "No! You can't do that!"

Yukinojo halted and frowned, puzzled. "Why?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Um...um...she's only just fell asleep," Kyohei replied. "You might wake her up if you go up now," he added lamely.

Yukinojo pouted, but it was the knowing look that Takenaga and Ranmaru shared that dismayed Kyohei. He waited for the next question to come; he didn't have long to wait.

"What aren't you saying, Kyohei?" Takenaga asked.

"Nothing," Kyohei lied. Unfortunately, he wasn't a very good liar.

Yukinojo stopped pouting immediately, a gleeful expression again appearing on his cute features. "You're hiding something," he sing-songed, poking Kyohei playfully in the chest.

"Yukinojo..." Kyohei said angrily through gritted teeth. He was about to grab Yuki's finger where he was still poking him when he noticed that the other three were no longer looking at him, but were instead looking up the stairs behind him.

"I'm sorry," came a feeble voice. "I just can't sleep in that room. It's too bright and the bed's too soft."

"Sunako-chan!" Yukinojo stopped poking Kyohei and immediately pushed past him, running up the stairs. He led Sunako, who was swaying tiredly at the top, down to the living room, past a now silent Kyohei, who was thinking that this was not going to be good!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"So what did she mean?"

Kyohei stiffened at the voice that came from behind him. He was in the kitchen clearing up after the dinner that they had had delivered in; they had agreed that Sunako would never get well eating anything that any of them had made!

After Sunako had appeared at the stairs, Yukinojo had led her to the sofa, where he and Ranmaru had spent the rest of the afternoon pampering her to within an inch of her life.

He was annoyed at how easily they had taken care of Sunako, and if he was honest, felt a little pushed out. He had spent most of the afternoon sulking while they had made a fuss of her, until Yukinojo had finally snapped at him for his bad attitude.

Sunako had looked confused and hurt, which only made him feel worse. Once the meals had been eaten, he had immediately retreated into the kitchen, Yukinojo and Ranmaru attentively accompanying Sunako upstairs to tuck her in. He had thought that Takenaga had gone with them, but now found that wasn't the case.

"You took good care of her, Kyohei," Takenaga said, walking further into the kitchen.

Kyohei breathed heavily. "I just did what any of you would have," he denied, drying the last of the plates.

Takenaga nodded in agreement. "I know that. But you need to accept, Kyohei that she means something to you."

"Don't you start; I get enough of that sort of talk from Yukinojo all the time. I don't need it from you as well."

Takenaga leaned against the wall and folded his arms. "What did she mean by a bright room and a soft bed? By no stretch of the imagination could she be describing her own bedroom."

Kyohei closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I wish you would all just get over this obsession you have with me and my non-existent romantic feelings for Nakahara Sunako. I just did what anyone would have done. And," he added forcefully, "I only did it because you lot volunteered me for it this morning."

Takenaga shook his head, disappointed that his friend was behaving in such a way, when he knew that Kyohei had feelings for Sunako. The frustration that he regularly felt living with the other three men tried to surface, but as usual, he controlled it and maintained his calm facade.

"And considering how quick you all were to volunteer me for the job, Yukinojo and Ranmaru took over from me quite enthusiastically!"

Takenaga's eyebrows shot up. That hadn't occurred to him at all. "You're jealous!"

"I am not!" Kyohei shot back, offended.

Takenaga nodded thoughtfully. "That explains a lot. You were acting like a little kid whose toy was stolen."

Kyohei didn't want to admit it, but he knew that there was a little bit of truth in what Takenaga was saying. Not that he looked upon Sunako as his personal property, but that he was jealous at how easily Yukinojo and Ranmaru had taken over looking after her.

Unwilling – and unready – to dwell further on that thought, he shook himself and threw down the towel he had been using to dry the plates and dishes. Ignoring Takenaga, who was looking at him concernedly, he brushed past him and went upstairs, wanting only to be alone.

He got as far as his door before he felt an irresistible urge to see if Sunako was okay. Promising himself that he would leave if Ranmaru and Yukinojo were still with her, he made his way toward her bedroom.

He listened outside the door but could hear nothing from inside, so he quietly turned the handle, opening the door. He peeked around it and was relieved to see that his male housemates were not inside.

He walked across the room and stood looking down at the peacefully sleeping Sunako.

She lay in her coffin with the lid pushed back, to better allow her to breathe, he guessed. Although her breathing seemed to be improving, he noted, so he thought the sleep and rest had helped her more than anything else.

She must have been feeling a little better because she had removed her cape and tracksuit and now wore a plain chocolate brown nightgown. Knowing Sunako as he had come to, he thought she must have changed clothes when Yukinojo and Ranmaru had left; there was no way that she would have made herself so vulnerable in their presence.

He himself felt a little bad for watching her like this when she was unaware, but he justified it by convincing himself that he only had her best interests at heart.

Unwillingly, he reached a hand out and placed the back of it gently on her long black hair where it laid spread out beneath her, careful not to touch her directly lest he disturb her. In spite of that, she shifted restlessly, frowning faintly in her sleep.

He snatched back his hand as though he had been burned, realising abruptly what he was doing. What the hell, he thought. His whole life had gone through upheaval after upheaval since Sunako had entered their lives and he wasn't altogether sure that it was a bad thing.

He stepped back, glad that none of the others had witnessed his embarrassing behaviour. Turning back toward the door, preparing to leave, he noticed Hiroshi staring accusingly at him from across the room.

He walked over to the anatomy model and stared back. "If you took care of her, I wouldn't have to," he whispered fiercely. "Look after her," he added, the words tore from him. Feeling like an idiot, he rushed out of the room, no closer to reconciling himself to how he felt about Nakahara Sunako than he had been before.

_**Author's Note:**_

_I would like to say thank you for all of the kind reviews; they have helped to keep me motivated to finish the story. I love Kyohei and Sunako and I think their story is something that we can all aspire to._

_I was debating whether to finish the story here, but I think I just need a little epilogue to finish it off. That will be posted in the next few days, so I hope you enjoy the rest as much as I have enjoyed writing it._


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

He lay in bed and heard the door downstairs close behind his male housemates as they left for college for the day. It was just his luck that in taking care of Sunako while she had been ill that he would catch whatever virus she had had. She herself had improved immensely since yesterday, so she was feeling fine now.

He had woken up that morning feeling awful. He would have been more than content to stay in bed, hiding from the world until he felt better, but living with others meant that was impossible.

He had already had three visits from Sunako; the first one had been to awkwardly thank him for taking care of her while she was sick; the other two had been to bring him tablets and tea once she had learned he was ill. She seemed to have made it her mission in life to take care of him.

He looked over at the door as, following a faint knock; it opened to show a hesitant Sunako. She was carrying a tray, which held various breakfast foods and despite feeling like a week-old pair of dirty socks, he perked up at the aroma coming from the hot food.

He struggled to sit up and she rushed over to him. After placing the tray on the bedside table, she lifted his pillows so that he could lean against them more comfortably, all the time avoiding looking at him directly to prevent another 'mabushii' incident. Deja vu, anyone, he thought wryly. Although, he was grateful for her thoughtfulness; in his present condition, he was sure getting head-butted by her would likely finish him off.

Once he was settled, she placed the tray across his lap and he whimpered gratefully at the bowls of appetising food before him.

"I'll go and refill your tea for you. Make sure that you eat all of that," she said a trifle bossily.

He watched her shuffle from the room with a fond smile as he ate the food before him. There were worse things a man could live through!

THE END


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